List of Nana characters

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These are the descriptions of all the fictional characters in the manga, movies and anime series Nana.

Contents

[edit] Main Characters

Nana Osaki (大崎ナナ Ōsaki Nana?) a.k.a Nana (ナナ?) or "Nana O."
Voiced by: Romi Paku
One of the titular characters of the series, Osaki Nana may look like a tough punk rocker, but she has a kind heart and is a devoted friend, though she can be possessive and dark as shown when she tells Nobu her reason for hooking him up with the other Nana is to keep Nana with her. Abandoned by her parents and raised by her grandmother, Nana was expelled from high school after she was falsely accused of prostitution. Despite these hardships, Nana "polishes the shards of her dreams" and is determined to be successful as the lead vocalist of Blast. She gets engaged to her first love, Ren, although she also has lingering, ambiguous feelings for Yasu. Her favorite designer is Vivienne Westwood, and her favorite band is the Sex Pistols.
Nana Komatsu (小松奈々 Komatsu Nana?) a.k.a Hachi (ハチ?) or "Nana K."
Voiced by: Kaori
The other "Nana" of the series, alongside Nana Osaki, this Nana comes to Tokyo looking to find her dream. Unlike Osaki, however, she comes from a large and happy household, though her childish outlook prevents her from living on her own initially. Due to her kindness and faithfulness, Nana Osaki nicknames her "Hachi," after the dog Hachikō (ハチ公 Hachikō?). Additionally, "hachi" means the number "eight" in Japanese, while "nana" is one reading for "seven." Later she becomes pregnant in between dating Takumi and Nobu. Although she was in love with Nobu, she chooses to stay with Takumi since he could readily provide for the child's upbringing.

[edit] Black Stones

Black Stones - normally shortened to Blast (ブラスト Burasuto?) - is a popular punk band within the series. Ren was once a member of the group, but, after his departure to join Trapnest, they recruit a new member, Shin. They attract a large following, and ultimately sign a deal with Gaia Records. Nana O. is their main vocalist.

Nobuo Terashima (寺島伸夫 Terashima Nobuo?) a.k.a. Nobu (ノブ?)
Voiced by: Seki Tomokazu
He is the guitarist of Blast and was the only person able to befriend Nana Osaki during high school -which coincidentally began their shared love for punk music. He is friendly and optimistic, but at times, he tends to miss the focus of conversations around him. Before Nana's "smoking ban", he's the only non-smoking member of Blast. However, his threshold for alcohol is poor and he accidentally leaks many secrets while he's drunk (most notably, about Nana and Ren's relationship to Shin). Like Yasushi, Nobu comes from a rich family (his parents own an inn). Despite this, he is still very passionate about music, even sharing Osaki's dream of making it big with a band one day. He falls in love with Hachi and they start a short but happy relationship. When Takumi tells Nobu about her pregnancy, Hachi painfully leaves him for Takumi. While he eventually accepts the reasons why she left him, he still fears the possibility of the child being his. He still has fond feelings for Hachi but decides to get in a relationship with Yuri.
Shinichi Okazaki (岡崎真一 Okazaki Shin'ichi?) a.k.a. Shin (シン?)
Voiced by: Akira Ishida
He is the bass player of Blast. Though mature and tall for his age, he is 15 years old and is the youngest member of the band. Because of his dysfunctional family, Shin left his home and abandoned his original family name. He moonlights as a male prostitute with Reira being one of his "clients." Among other things, he's an expert mahjong player and a confidant and early roommate to Nobu. He stops seeing Reira to protect her status and his own feelings -also possibly sparked from fear by Takumi's warning. Ryouko Kawashigi, one of his older clients, bares a striking resemblance to Reira and he sees her again after the two musicians ended their relationship. She lives near his parents apartment working as a stewardess and is the one that taught Shin "bad things". He and Ryouko were put under arrest for possession of marijuana which caused BLAST to withdraw from tour.
Yasushi Takagi (高木泰士 Takagi Yasushi?) a.k.a. Yasu (ヤス?)
Voiced by: Yoshihisa Kawahara
He plays percussion and is the leader of Blast, usually handling the business partnerships and financial decisions needed for the band's success. His favorite cigarette brand is "Black Stones", from which the band got their name. He is also a lawyer in training, despite his "scary" appearance (clean shaven head, many earrings and dark glasses). He's the big brother figure for Nana O -and sometimes Nobu- and acted as Nana's "guardian" when she arrived in Tokyo. While he harbors some feelings for her, he baits Ren to rekindle their love for each other. In the past, he shared several ties with Trapnest's members. Yasu and Ren grew up in the same orphanage and remained close friends when Yasu was adopted. He dated Reira while in high school and was jealous of Takumi's success and influence on her, which he later relates as the reasons for their break up. Also, he's the oldest member of Blast which Nobu sometimes teases him about (by calling him "old man"). He is in a budding romance with Miu to the surprise of Ren and others -who were sure he would date Reira again.

[edit] Trapnest

Trapnest or Tranes (トラネス Toranesu?) for short, is a popular band in the manga. Nana wants her own band to overtake Trapnest as the leading one in Japan.

Ren Honjo (本城蓮 Honjō Ren?) a.k.a Ren (レン?)
Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi
Blast's former bassist, Ren is actually Trapnest's guitarist. He is very popular and his music is well-received by fans. He and Nana Osaki were once in a relationship when he was still with Blast. Ren is a big fan of the Sex Pistols; he participated in a tribute album to them, and wears a "Sid Vicious" padlock around his neck that he received from Nana. Nana had an image of a lotus tattooed on her upper arm in honor of him ("Ren" is a Japanese name for lotus). Ren grew up in an orphanage and learned to take care of himself by the age of 12. He finds school boring and only likes to play guitar, which he practiced alone to the point of perfection. The brand of the cigarettes he originally smoked was the 'Seven Stars'.
Layla Serizawa (芹澤レイラ Serizawa Reira?) a.k.a Reira (レイラ?)
Voiced by: Aya Hirano
She is the half-American, half-Japanese lead singer of Trapnest who writes the lyrics for Trapnest's songs. Though her name is often romanized as "Reira," she is actually named "Layla" after the hit song by Eric Clapton. She secretly had trysts with Shin. Though in love with him, she eventually broke up with him to protect Trapnest from further scandal. She asked if they could still contact each other but Shin is reticent and urges her to break off entirely. It is unknown if they will reconcile though it is clear that they still love each other. Layla grew up with Takumi and she still has deep unanswered feelings for him.
Takumi Ichinose (一ノ瀬巧 Ichinose Takumi?) a.k.a Takumi (タクミ?)
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa
The leader and bassist of Trapnest. He is quite handsome and has a reputation of being a playboy. Despite his raw sexual charisma, Takumi can also be cold and controlling workaholic. His favorite brand of cigarettes is "Gitanes". Coming from a family with an alcoholic and bitter father, he and his older sister learned maternal independence at a young age due to his mother being bed-ridden with illness in the hospital. He looked after Layla since they were children and always harbored a brother-like care for her. He ends up dating and sleeping with Hachi, which dubiously resulted in Hachi's pregnancy. For some reason, maybe because of his family background or he's starting to get possessive, he refuses to leave Hachi and the unborn child despite Hachi's uncertainty whether it's his or Nobu's. In a previous chapter, Naoki said something to Yasu about Takumi not letting the woman he's infatuated with run away that easily; and Ren saying that Takumi hates getting into such mess, which hints that Takumi took responsibility not just only because of sheer sense of responsibility but he's starting to care for her. In chapter 71, as Layla gives him Valentines Chocolates as a sign of her decided feelings, Takumi asks her if she really wants to become "one of his many lovers". This is indicating he may be cheating on Hachi with various women or he's had many past sex-based relationships, which has already been proven. He and Layla do start to kiss, but are interrupted, and Takumi flees the scene quickly. Last we see of him in the chapter is Takumi sitting by himself having opened Layla's chocolates. He appears troubled, and reads the note inside the box that wrote 'I love you - Layla'. The note begins to burn when it is lit by his cigarette, and tossed into the ashtray. He later shows up to Layla's apartment and proceeds to sleep with her. In chapter 74, it is indicated that little Ren is his son as the latter is found living with him in London in the future glimpses. It was also vaguely hinted that that kid Ren is his and Hachi's child, though there's no confirmation of any sort. He also tells Naoki that he's regretting the fact that he sacrificed so much simply for his work because Hachi does not want to come and live with him in London, rendering their family incomplete. In a past scene in the same chapter, it was revealed that Takumi's affair with Reira is just part of work—for Reira wouldn't function if he didn't do it. Ren even comments to Takumi that the leader would even "hold his sister" to "protect his castle/kingdom" at which Takumi states that he hopes that "Hachi and Sa-chan" will live on even if he will drag himself and his band members to hell with him. He also comments to Ren after the latter had asked him to lay bare his imprudence with Reira to his wife, that everywhere would be a "battlefield" if Hachi leaves him. In the flash forward scenes, he also tells Naoki he doesn't want to divorce Hachi even though she stays in Japan to wait for Nana Osaki.
In the end, Takumi is one of the most confusing characters in this manga. Like what Hachiko once said, with Takumi, it is hard to tell whether it's love or business.
Naoki Fujieda (藤枝直樹 Fujieda Naoki?)
Voiced by: Anri Katsu
He is the drummer of Trapnest. Like Nobu in Black Stones, he's the "clueless", loud-mouthed member of his band. As with the rest of his bandmates, he's a friend of Yasu. His musical interest was awakened by Takumi during middle school. He hoped to achieve lots of attention from girls by playing in the band. He used to be the playboy of the band, tricking groupies to fund their cause, to which end is not explained.

[edit] Gaia Affiliated

Black Stones eventually sign a full contract with Gaia Records. Due to the tabloids over Nana and Ren's relationship, Blast members relocated to one of Gaia's facilities and voluntarily shared housing with other talented individuals under Gaia's name.

Gou Kanemoto (金本　豪 Kanemoto Gou?)
Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto
The leader of the corporation which owns Gaia Records.
Ginpei Shiroboshi (諸星銀平 Shiroboshi Ginpei?)
Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki
Blast's manager. He talks in a very feminine way (unless angered) and he has a questionable interest in Yasu. In Nana's eyes, Ginpei is the second "baldie" related to Blast -the first being Yasu.
Mai Tsuzuki (都築舞 Tsuzuki Mai?) / "Misato Uehara" (上原美里 Uehara Misato?)
Voiced by: Mika Kanai
An ardent fan of Blast since its inception, Misato loves Nana and has befriended the band. However, "Uehara Misato" is not her true name. Misato/Mai claims that a fortune teller told her that if she used the name "Uehara Misato" she could become closer to Nana, but may have actually chosen it because it's the name of Nana's half-sister. Mai later joins the staff at Gaia, Blast's record label. She came to know about Nana and Blast when she read her grandfather's diary and discovered that he and Nana's grandmother were once lovers. Recent chapters reveal that Mai may actually have a secret she prefers not to reveal since the tabloids have discovered Nana's father's surname may actually be "Tsuzuki", which would imply that she, like Uehara Misato, is Nana's half-sister.
Miu Shinoda (篠田美雨 Shinoda Miu?) / Myū
Voiced by: Saeko Chiba
A placid and soft-spoken actress who shares a boarding house with Blast and Yuri. She is older than she looks (27) and her name is often mispronounced "Myū" by Nobu. Miu wears long sleeves to hide the scars on her wrists from self-mutilation. Also, in volume 11 (the volume where she first appears), it's shown that she's a very good mahjong player (she claimed that she learnt her skills by having special training for her role in a mahjong movie as a nameless rival). She is currently dating Yasu.
Yuri Kousaka (香坂百合 Kōsaka Yuri?) / Asami Matsumoto (松本朝海 Matsumoto Asami?)
Voiced by: Reiko Suhou
A giggly, giddy AV idol (porn star) who shares a boarding house with Blast and Miu. She's currently dating Nobu. She has a large quota to pay off and is almost done paying it all off. Yuri was a teenage runaway before she starred in adult videos, and she has financial problems due to her sleazy manager and her own fickle nature. Her real name is "Asami Matsumoto".
Yamagishi (山岸?)
Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda
The security guard who guards the hostel where Blast stays in. He has the look of a gangster, and frequently sleeps at his post.
Takafumi Kawano (川野高文 Kawano Takafumi?)
One of Gaia's recording producers and the first to scout for Blast in Tokyo. He doesn't know much about punk or rock but is throughly impressed with the band's charm and Nana's charisma. He is kind-hearted and fully believes in Blast's success despite skepticism from executives and his peers. Though high enough in the company to have influence, he was unaware of Gaia's leak to the scandal surrounding Nana. Originally, he declined to sign Blast an official contract as the pay Gaia was willing to compensate for each member would have been less than they deserved. Yasu, however, privately convinced him that dreams were more important and he sealed the deal.
Shion (詩音 Shion?)
President to Blast's Private Fan Club and a long-time fan of Yasu since his days in Brute. She keeps in contact with Mai and divides the fans by their interests in the members. Her devotion to Yasu is unfailing and she relays any news outside of Gaia's influence to him. When questioned about her financial situation, she replied to have some dependency from her rich "father" - though he is not biological. First seen in the story as a bobcut-haired groupie, later as a platinum blonde during her late teens, and re-introduced with curled black hair as an adult; Shion's only constant traits include the mole underneath her left eye and the tattoo on her right arm.

[edit] Hachi's Relatives and Acquaintances

People who have interacted with Nana K. personally at given times of her life. They don't address her with her nickname, Hachi, and have deeply affected her perceptions on certain situations. As they aren't deeply involved with the two bands, she will often reflect on her experiences with them for reassurance when she is in doubt of her simultaneous loyalties to Blast and Trapnest.

Nami Komatsu (小松奈美 Komatsu Nami?)
Hachi's younger sister, and the youngest in the Komatsu household, she has the appearance of a ganguro girl because of her suntan and bleached hair. Nami is very outgoing and loud, and is a Trapnest fan.
Nao Komatsu (小松奈緒 Komatsu Nao?)
Hachi's older sister, who looks quite a bit like Natsuko. She is married, but still lives near the Komatsu family home.
Natsuko Komatsu (小松奈津子 Komatsu Natsuko?)
Hachi's mother. Kind and understanding, she is a model mother to her daughters, and Nana Osaki considers Natsuko to be cool. Hachi, however finds it weird since she thought that her family is nothing but 'normal.'
Satsuki Ichinose (一ノ瀬皐 Ichinose Satsuki?)
Voiced by: Yuko Katou
The daughter of Nana Komatsu. Not much known about her, and she makes only a few appearances later in the series. When she appears, she is 6 years old (presumably showing the future outlook of the story). During her pregnancy, Hachi and Takumi unofficially called her 'Sachiko'. It is not known if she is truly Takumi's or Nobu's child, but bears a striking resemblance to Takumi, with black hair and hazel eyes. She is revealed to have a crush on Shin, though his reciprocation (or even his knowledge of her feelings) is unlikely. Her name, Satsuki, was chosen by Ren at the request of Hachi, who was unable to think up any name other than 'Sachiko'. It is indicated that little Ren may be her brother as once her mother had asked whether she would give her Valentine chocolates to "brother" .
Junko Saotome (早乙女淳子 Saotome Junko?)
Voiced by: Takako Honda
Hachi's sensible, no-nonsense best friend. Junko is much more emotionally mature than Hachi and often pushes her to be more independent and responsible. She's the host of the omake (bonus) section at the end of each manga volume, reading fan mail and displaying fan art. She's often called "Jun-chan" by Hachi.
Kyosuke Takakura (高倉京助 Takakura Kyosuke?)
Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe
Junko's boyfriend who currently shares an apartment with her. He's also good friends with Hachi and Shoji. His laid-back attitude to life may deem him a slacker in the eyes of many, but he's actually quite perceptive and he coddles Hachi more than Junko would like. Both him and Junko are studying to become artists (his art being Romantic and hers being Post-Modernistic).
Shoji Endo (遠藤章司 Endō Shōji?)
Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi
He is Hachi's ex-boyfriend. He is a struggling art student and works as a waiter. He met Hachi through his old friend, Junko, and Hachi originally moved to Tokyo to be closer to him. However, their relationship gradually cooled and he cheated on her with Sachiko, a co-worker and classmate. Though he still has feelings for her, he leaves Hachi for Sachiko. They meet by chance some time later at Jackson Hole and they part in bitter-sweet acquiescence.
Sachiko Kawamura (川村幸子 Kawamura Sachiko?)
Voiced by: Megumi Kojima
Shoji's sweet-natured girlfriend. She works at the same restaurant as Shoji. Early on in the manga, Hachi once dreamt of Shoji two-timing her with a buxom, Prada-loving city girl named Sachiko (she thought of the name randomly). Ominously, it later turned out to be true, though the real Sachiko is nothing like "virtual" Sachiko. Interestingly, Hachi also plays with the idea of naming her unborn daughter Sachiko.
Takashi Asano (浅野崇 Asano Takashi?)
Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka
Hachi's first lover. A handsome, older, married man, Asano carried on a secret affair with Hachi that ended when he was abruptly transferred to Tokyo. Though Hachi believed that she was in love with him, she made the painful realization that he saw her as merely a "fling". Hachi encounters him again in Tokyo and, after resolving her own personal issues with him, tells him to stop cheating on his wife.

[edit] Cookie Music

Trapnest's official record label which is also a homage to the magazine that serialized the manga. Unlike Blast, members are assigned with more managers who ensure that they meet their appointments and affirm each member's status.

Mitsuru Narita (成田　充 Narita Mitsuru?)
Voiced by: Sho Hayami
The head of Cookie Music, Narita is flamboyant, but reasonably talented with music. He works frequently with Takumi when it comes to Trapnest's music and marketing strategies.
Hideki Kasai (笠井秀樹 Kasai Hideki?)
Trapnest's director. He is easily moved by tales of romanticism and love. Though he is supposed to direct during recordings, he usually sets appointments or sends requests to the president of the company, leaving all artistic direction in Takumi's hands.
Kinoshita (木下 Kinoshita?)
One of Trapnest's assistants. Occasionally, he will check on Ren and take him to recordings. He loves the quality of Ren's cars.
Mari (マリ Mari?)
Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi
Reira's personal assistant and manager. She is intelligent and has experience as a student at a law university.
Takeda (竹田 Takeda?)
Assistant in charge of Trapnest's publicity. Out of the assistants mentioned so far, he is the one that Takumi trusts the most. Members of the band often address him as "Take-chan".

[edit] Search Magazine

A magazine that shares similar characteristics to the Japanese magazine, Friday. They are a part of the "paparazzi" that track both bands. When Blast was becoming popular, they were given a leak that connected Nana O with Ren and haven't stopped from spreading negative (and sometimes false) information about them.

Kudo (工藤 Kudo?)
Voiced by: Masahiko Tanaka
The editor in charge of the the tabloids surrounding Blast and Trapnest. According to Arai, he is supposed to answer to a higher supervisor, Yokoyama, but he chooses to be more impetuous in his actions. He employs Miyake and Kurada to investigate in his place.
Yoshiyuki Arai (新井良行 Arai Yoshiyuki?)
Search magazine's editor-in-chief. He has already been married for 2 years. He is often the one to chide Kudo for his brash methods of investigations.
Minoru Kurada (倉田稔 Kurada Minoru?)
Voiced by: Susumu Chiba
Photographer hired by Search magazine to track Nana O and Ren. He has conflicting opinions with his employer, Kudou, and claims that once he sees a face, he will never forget it. Curiously, after investigating Nana at a later unspecified time, he reports that "Nana died at that sea". The depth of these words have yet to be explained.
Miyake (三宅 Miyake?)
Kurada's partner in crime who frequently stalks Nana O for a private interview. Yasu punched him on one occasion, which later lead to a negative article about Yasu being published in their magazine. He finds nothing wrong about pestering the couple, thinking that their relationship is fragile to begin with.
Fumie Sugiwara (菅原文江 Sugiwara Fumie?)
The only woman in the editorial group. She does scold her peers for their cruelty, but also finds their harassments of Nana O and Ren as testing their love for one another.

[edit] Others

Chikage Fujimoto (藤本千景 Fujimoto Chikage?)
She is the real Misato's friend, a Blast and Shinichi's fan. She was among the trio selected to represent Kansai at Blast's special fan gathering.
Keiichi Mizukoshi (水越誠一 Mizukoshi Keiichi?)
Voiced by: Kenji Hamada
Owner to a cheap vintage furniture and clothing store near both Nana's apartment in Tokyo. He hired Hachi but soon closed the store to move back home. He later sends her a postcard with a wedding photo with him and his bride (a childhood friend), ironic to Hachi's lament at the time.
Ms. Sakagami (坂上-様 Sakagami-san?)
Voiced by: Shinohara Emi
A 38-year old woman who is Nana's boss at her new job at the magazine production industry. She is crude and scornful, and will not hesitate to throw insults at all sorts of minor imperfections that Nana has made.
Koichi Sato (佐藤公一 Satō Koichi?)
Voiced by: Keisuke Fujii
A waiter at the Jackson's Burger restaurant. He is friendly with Hachi, Junko, and Shoji, who all curiously address him by his full name.
Misato Uehara (上原美里 Uehara Misato?) (real Misato Uehara)
Nana Osaki's half-sister who appears before Nana at a special "thank you" concert for Blast's fans. She lives in Osaka, her parents own an okonomiyaki shop. She is also known as '(Misato) Number Two' by Nana. Though she bares a striking similarity to her, she is unaware of her true relationship with Nana and ironically became one of her newer devoted fans. Mai has said that it is not a good idea for Nana and Misato to become too close because they share the same mother. Misato's mother abandoned Nana O when she was a child to her grandmother.
Ren
A morose young boy initially seen in the company of Reira during the segments depicting the future. It is implied that he is Takumi and Hachi's son and Satsuki Ichinose's brother. He is living in London with Takumi and does not want to return to Japan. In the future, Reira apparently has given up singing, but will sing when Ren plays the guitar for her.
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